Loud-speaker mounting



May 6, .1930. A. A. KENT 7,

1 LOUD SPEAKER MOUNTING Filed April 25, 1929 Patented May 6, .1930

ARTHUR ATWATER KENT, OF ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA LOUD-SPEAKER MOUIhTTINGApplication filed April 23, 1929. Serial No. 357,459.

My invention relates to amounting for loud speakers, such as arecommonly utilized for the reproduction of sound and music in radiobroadcast reception, and more particularly to a mounting for a loudspeaker having a large or conical diaphragm actuated by anelectro-dynamic unit.

It is the object of my invention to provide a simple detachable mountingfor a loud 1 speaker upon a support, such as a wall of a radio cabinet,console, or similar furniture of or for radio receiving or-phono'graphicapparatus.

In accordance with my invention an element of a thrust hanger or bracketis secured to a substantially vertical support, as a wall of a radiocabinet, consoleor like furniture,- adjacent a sound aperture or openingtherein, and upon it is hung a cooperating element attached to or a partof the loud speaker unit at such point thereof that its weight causes itto be thrust while supported by the'thrust bracket or hanger toward andagainst the support orwall with force sufficient to hold the speakerunit in operative relation to the sound opening, without recourse toscrews, bolts or like fastenings.

My invention resides in features of structure and arrangement ofthecharacter hereinafter described and claimed. I For an illustration ofone of the various forms my invention may take, reference is to be hadto the accompanying drawing, in which: 4

' Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of structureembodymg my 1n'vention.

Fig. 2'is a rear elevational view of the lould speaker unit.

thrust hanger structure.

Referring to the drawing, 1 is a bottom for the casing 2,-both ofmagnetizable material,

comprised in the magnetic circuit with the pole plate 3 and core 4, bothof magnetizable material, of the field structure of an electrodynamicsystem. The core 4 is secured to the bottom 1 by thebolt or stud 5, andthe pole late 3 is held against the end of the casing 59 2 by the boltsor rods 6 which also pass plate 3 and the pole 4 an air gap ofsubstanphragm or cone 0 and its ma Fig. 3 is a side view of a modifiedform of V through the inner flange 7 of the metalhousing 8, the latterprovided witha plurality of apertures 9.

, Surrounding the core 4 is the field winding 10 held against the bottom1 by pressure of 5 the plate 3 through the disc or washer 12 andintervening compressible elements 13 of felt orequivalent. The ringll'of brass or other non-magnetizable material, is secured to the poleplate 3 and terminates in the inwardly extending annular ring 14 whichcenters the plate 3 with respect to the pole 4 to. define between. thecenter aperture in the tially uniform radial extent. 7

Within the housing 8 is disposed a conical diaphragm C of paper or othersuitable material liaving adjacent its one end the cylindrical member 15of paper, fibre or the like, extending into the aforesaid air gap andcarrying or having wound thereon the coil 16. through which thesound-representing current is passed. Attached to the inside of the coneC is the spider 17 securedat 18 to the core 4. The spider issubstantially unyielding radially but is flexible or yielding axially ofthe cone to permit its axial vibration while it and the coil 15 aresupported by the spider in suitable unvarying radial relation 01"position with respect to the-air gapbetween members 3 and 4. y

At its outer edge the cone G has attached thereto the annular flexiblehinge-like member 19 clamped between the metalring 20 and the outerflange 21 of the housing 8 by the screws or rivets 22.

The structure thusfar described is a loud speaker unit comprising ingeneral the diaetic actuatin unit which, in the example illstrated, is othe ele'ctro-dynamic t pe, it being understood however, that any othersuitable diaphragm actuatin unit or structure may be employed.

The diaphragm actuating unit is of relatively great mass or weight andas will be apparent from Fig. 1, the center of gravity of the s eakerunit is far to the right of its front e ge as defined, in the exam 1eillustrated, by the ring 20 or forward e flange 21.

ge of the For detachably mounting the loud speaker unit upon a supportor wall which is more or less nearly vertical, there is secured to theflange 21 of the housing 8 a hanger member or plate 23 having. one ormore apertures 24 (Fig. 2) whose upper edges 24 may, as indicaited, besubstantially straight and horizonta In Fig. 1, W generically representsa support, as a wall of. wood, metal or other material, of a cabinet,console, or other piece of furniture utilized for housing a loud speakerand/or a radio receiving set and/or a phono-- graph. In the member W isprovided the opening or aperture 25. It will be understood, however,that in lieu of the single aperture there may be provided within thearea occupied by the aperture 25 a-plurality ofapertures, grill work orthe like.

Above the aperture 25 there is secured to the wall W one or more metalthrust hangers or brackets 26 having the outstanding por- "tion 27-whose upper face 27 is inclined downwardly toward the Wall W. T he part27 preferably has the upstanding lug 28 to prevent dislodgement of thespeaker unit from hanger 26.

Preferably there is disposed between the wall W and the front faceof'the loud speaker unit a ring or washer 29 of felt or the like whichprovides a seal-between the wall and speaker unit.

The loud speaker. is applied to the wall W by passing the aperture 24 ofthe-plate 23 over the thrust hanger or bracket 26, with the upper edge24 'of the aperture 24 in plate 23 engaging the inclined face or surface27 of the thrust bracket or hanger.

By its own weight the loud speaker unit tends to ride downwardly towardthe left on the surface 27, and this force as exerted upon or by theloud speaker unit causes its front or left face to thrust against thefelt washer 29, if employed, or against the wall W if the washer 29 beomitted.

Because the center of gravity of the loud speaker unit is far to theright (Fig. 1) and generally between the plate 3 and base 1 in astructure such as illustrated, for example, the weight of the loudspeaker unit is in effect concentrated at a point far from the contactofthe plate 23 with the thrust bracket or hanger surface 27, and causesthe lower portion of the left front of the speaker unit, as well as theupper'portion thereof, forcibly to thrust against the wall VV- or washer29.

The thrust is in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of thecone G and the speaker unit as a whole, against the wall structure V,and is so great, because of the cooperative relation of the plate 23with the inclined face 27",that the speaker unit is held fixedly inplace, with the diaphragm or cone C in suitable sound-transmittingrelation with respect to the wall aperture 25.

To prevent swinging of the speaker unit parallel to the wall W it ispreferred, as indicated, to utilize a plurality of apertures 24 in thehanger plate 23 to coact with a similar number of thrust brackets orhangers upon the wall W.

WVhile in the structure abovedescribed that element of the thrust hangerwhich has the inclined surface 27 is secured to the support or wallmember W, it will be understood that the members 26 and 27 may berelatively reversed, as indicated in Fig. 3, where the plate 23, withits aperture 24, is integral with or secured to the member 23 which issecured to the rear of the support or wall W, and the member 26, whichhas a portion .27 having the inclinedsurface 27 is secured to the loudspeaker unit, as to the flange 21. In this case the inclined surface 27engages uponthe surface 24 at-the bottom of the aperture or slot 24.

Structure of the character described affo'rdsmeans for detachably buteffectively I mounting a loud speaker upon a support, as the wall of aconsole, cabinet or the like, without recourse .to fastening means suchas screws, bolts, or the like.

A manufacturer may accordingly produce loud speaker units destined forpractically any cabinet or other like furniture and with each' speakerunit may be supplied, in addition to the hanger plate 23, acorrespondingly suitable number of hanger brackets or plates 26, whichis the only structure which is directly or fixedly secured to thecabinet wall.

It is preferable, though not altogether necessary, that the thrustagainst the wall or sup- 1 port W, or the intervening member 20, shouldbe equal at both theuppermost and lowermost points of engagement of thespeaker unit (Fig. 1), i. e., substantially uniform around aperture 25or throughout the circumference of flange 21 and seal washer 29. Thiscondition will be met when the tangent of the angle between the inclinedsurface 27 and thevertical is equal to the distance of the point ofcontact (between 24 and 27) from the horizontal axis of the speakerunit, particularly such as the axis of the cone C, divided by thedistance along that axis between said point of contact and the center ofgravity of the speaker unit. The angle of the surface 27 with respect'tothe vertical is not generally critical for such equality of pressures,and a tolerance of a few degrees either way is permissible. of the angleof the surface 27 with respect to the. vertical may be utilized Wherethe hanger elements are to be standardized to suit loud speaker unitswhich vary from each other in dimensions and relative location of centerof gravity.

lVhat I claim is 1. The combination with a substantially vertical wallhaving a sound opening, of a.

A compromise value of loud speaker unit, and means for detachablymounting said speaker unit upon said wall in operative register withsaid opening comprising hanger structure disposed on that side of thecenter of gravity of said loudspeaker unit that by its weight it thrustsagainst said wall.

2. The combination with a substantially vertical wall having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit, a seal member intervening between asurface of said unit and said wall, and means for detachably mountingsaid speaker unit in operative register with said opening comprisinghanger structure di's posed on that side of the center of gravity ofsaid speaker unit that by its weight it thrusts against said seal memberentirely around said opening.

3. The combination with a substantially vertical support having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit, and means for detachably holding theloud speaker unit upon and against said support in operative relation tosaid sound opening comprising thrust hanger elements securedrespectively to said loud speaker unit and to said support, one of saidelements having a surface inclining downwardly and toward said support,vand the other of said elements engaging said inclined surface, thecenter of gravity of said speaker unit disposed on that side ofthecontact between said hanger elements which causes said speaker unit tothrust against said support entirely around said opening. i

4. The combination with a substantially vertical support having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit comprising a conical diaphragm and ahousing therefor, and means for detachably holding the loud speaker unitupon and against said support with said diaphragm in operative relationto said sound opening comprising thrust hanger elements securedrespectively to said support and to said housing the center of gravityof said speaker unit disposed on that side of the con tact between saidhanger elements which causes said speaker unit to thrust against saidsupport entirely around said opening.'

5. The combination with a substantially vertical support having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit having a housing, a seal member disposedbetween a face of said housing and said wall, and means for detachablymounting said speaker unit in operative register with said sound openingcomprising thrust hanger elements secured respectively to said supportand to said housing, one of said elements having a surface incliningdownwardly and toward said support and the other of said elementsengaging said inclined surface, the center of gravityof said speakerunit disposed on that side of said hanger elements that said housingthrusts against said seal member with substantially uniform pressureentirely around said opening.

6. The combination with a substantially vertical support having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit, and a plurality of thrust hangersdisposed on opposite sides of the axis of said said loud speaker unitand each comprising elements secured respectively to said support and tosaid loud speaker unit, one of said elements having a surface incliningdownwardly and toward said support, and the other of said elementsengaging said inclined surface on that side of the center of gravity ofsaid speaker unit which causes it by its weight to thrust against saidsupport entirely around said opening.

7. The combination with vertical wall having a sound opening, of a loudspeaker unit having a face adapted to lie against said wall, and meansfor detachably mounting said speaker unit upon said wall in. operativeregister with said sound opening comprising hanger structure disposed onthat side of the center of gravity of said speaker unit that by itsweight it thrusts against said wall with pressure substantially uniformentirely around said sound opening.

8. The combination with a substantially vertical wall having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit, a member disposed between a face ofsaid speaker unit andsaidwall to effect a seal therebetween, and meansfor detachably mounting said speaker unit in oper-' ative register withsaid sound opening comprising hanger structure disposed on that side ofthe center of gravity of said speaker unit that by its weight it thrustsagainst said seal member with pressure substantially uniform entirelyaround said soundopening.

9. The combination with a substantially vertical wall having a soundopening, of a loud speaker unit having a face adapted to lie againstsaid wall, and means for detachably mounting said speaker unit upon andagainst said wall in operative register with said sound openingcomprising a thrust hanger element on said wall adjacent said opening, acooperating element secured on said speaker unit, one of said elementshaving a surface incliningdownwardly toward said wall, the-other of saidelements engaging said surface, the centerof gravity of said speakerunit disposed on that side of said hanger elements that the'weight ofsaid speaker unit causes ittobear at said face against said wall withsubstantial pressure entirely around said sound opening.

10. The combination with a substantially vertical wall having a soundopening, of a a substantially I loud speaker unit having a faceadaptedto adjacent said face, one of said elements having with theweight of said speaker unit for ing a surface inclining downwardlytoward said Wall and the other of said elements en'- gaging saidinclined surface, the center of gravity of said speaker unit disposed onthat 5 side of the contact between said hanger elements that theoverhung Weight of the speaker unit effects firm contact between saidface and said Wall aroundsaid sound opening.

. ARTHUR ATWATER KENT.

